


Settled In

by Sarren



Category: Hot Fuzz (2007)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-12-25
Updated: 2007-12-25
Packaged: 2017-10-13 06:55:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/134268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarren/pseuds/Sarren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One Year Later</p>
            </blockquote>





	Settled In

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Giddygeek for Yuletide 2007.
> 
> Thanks to my beta, Zebrs363

His pillow was comfortable and pleasantly warm. Nicholas yawned drowsily and tried to stretch out, but couldn't seem to move much. That woke him up. He lay still, assessing the situation. There was enough light coming through the curtains for him to recognise Danny's lounge room. He made the mistake of turning his head, and winced. Great, he'd developed a crick in his neck. He had to stop falling asleep on Danny's couch. His pillow shifted a bit and Nicholas realised his head was resting on Danny's thigh.

This was new. Normally Danny stumbled off to bed at some point, leaving him the couch. That's probably why he'd ended up in this position. Habit. He realised the weight on him was Danny's arm resting across his body, keeping him warm. As long as he was careful not to move his neck he was actually pretty comfortable. Nicholas yawned and squinted at his watch. If he got up now he'd have time to go for a run. For a moment he considered not getting up and just staying where he was until it was time to go to work. That thought was enough to snap him wide awake. Living in Sandford was making him soft. He bolted upright, dislodging Danny's arm. Danny grunted and idly scratched his chin as his eyes flickered open. They rested on Nicholas for a moment and then closed again. Nicholas jumped up and grabbed his running clothes from the bag he'd taken to packing when he came over to Danny's to watch movies. He went into the bathroom to get changed.

Nicholas quietly let himself out of the house. Force of habit made him lock the door with the spare key Danny had given him, despite the fact that Danny didn't bother to lock up most of the time unless Nicholas reminded him. Despite Nicholas's efforts to instill awareness of the potential risks and dangers, most of the locals simply refused to become more security conscious. Still, he had to admit, the incidence of burglary in Sandford was lower than other towns in the county, even now that the local NWA wasn't murdering the undesirable elements.

He did a few stretches as he walked down to the gate, trying to work the kink out of his neck. It was still too early for the majority of Sandford's residents to be up and about, but the Johnsons, both of them eighty if they were a day, were tottering along the path behind their aged Springer spaniel, Toby. 'Morning, Inspector,' they called in unison, as he closed the gate carefully behind him. Nicholas waved to them as he set off in the opposite direction. He followed his usual route along the outskirts of village and through the market square, acknowledging the greetings of shopkeepers setting up and automatically making a mental note of the couple gazing at the church. Probably just tourists, either here for the historical sights or, more likely, the notorious ones. Sandford attracted a lot of that sort of attention now.

He detoured home briefly to shower and shave and arrived at work as usual exactly ten minutes before the start of his shift. Turner looked up as he came in, nodded cordially, and returned to reading his book.

Fisher was sitting at his desk with his feet up. He sat up abruptly when he saw Nicholas. 'Morning, Inspector,' he said brightly, 'Danny coming in this morning?'

'Yes, why?'

'I heard you two had a big night last night, that's all. Celebration, was it?'

Nick frowned. He guessed they'd had about four beers each, okay, maybe it was more like six or seven for Danny, and they'd stayed at the pub later than usual. The new owners had put up a dartboard and Danny had been very keen. He'd hardly call that a big night. Though, he supposed, by Sandford standards it might be. 'Not really,' he said.

'I've had a 'celebration' or two myself down at that pub,' Doris announced, sauntering into the room.

'Queers,' he thought he heard Walker mumble. Nicholas looked at him sharply. Walker wasn't looking at him; he was busy patting Saxon.

Fisher was giving him one of those looks Nicholas found hard to interpret, as though he didn't believe him but found him amusing. Nicholas decided to ignore it.

He settled down in his office with the week's reports and didn't look up until Danny arrived. He could hear him in the station room talking enthusiastically about that film they'd gone to see last week, Die Hard 4. Danny had insisted he had to watch the other three first so they'd had a movie marathon on the Saturday night and watched them all in one go. Then on the Sunday they'd gone to the cinema in Buford Abbey, making a day of it, with dinner afterwards at a nice restaurant. It had been enjoyable.

He could see Danny through the open door, gesturing wildly as he re-enacted a favourite scene from the film, face lit up with simple excitement. Nicholas smiled affectionately. Danny looked over and saw him watching. He ducked his head a bit, embarrassed. Nicholas turned back to the paperwork in front of him.

A moment later there was a perfunctory knock and Danny stuck his head through the door. 'Ready to go, Nick?'

'Coming.' Nicholas put his pen away tidily and closed the file he'd been working on. Danny beamed at him as they walked out to the car.

'D'you know, it's exactly one year since you arrived here,' Danny said as he was putting on his seatbelt, in that wondering tone of his.

Nicholas had just put the key in the ignition. He turned slowly to look at Danny. 'I didn't notice,' he said slowly.

Danny shrugged, unconcerned.

'That's what they meant about the celebration,' he said, putting it together. 'Danny, do they think...'

'What?'

'Do they think we're together?'

'We are together.'

'No, not together, _together.'_

Danny shrugged, unconcerned. 'I guess.'

'That doesn't bother you?'

'Why should it?'

'Because,' Nicholas looked at Danny's innocently enquiring face. 'Well. Because it isn't true.'

'It's kind of true.'

'What?'

'We hang out together all the time. You stay over my place.'

'I sleep on the couch.'

'So did I, last night. You had your head in my lap. It was nice.'

It had been nice. Nicholas couldn't remember ever feeling that comfortable with another person.

Nicholas thought about their excursion to see Die Hard 4. That had been Danny taking him out on a date, he realised.

'I didn't know,' he said blankly.

Danny shrugged philosophically. 'It doesn't matter. We have a good time, don't we?'

'Yeah, we do.'

'Nothing has to change, does it?' Danny looked anxious. 'I mean, you're not freaked out, are you?'

Was he freaked out? Janine's parting words echoed in his mind. _You just can't switch off, Nicholas. And until you find a person you care about more than your job, you never will._ Well, he had changed, hadn't he? Thanks to Danny. Danny was the person who'd taught him to switch off. Danny was the person he cared for more than the job. More than anything.

Nicholas thought about what everyone would think about them if he and Danny started dating. Except everyone apparently thought that about them already, and didn't seem to care much. At least, there hadn't been formal complaints, or even any snide remarks or knowing looks. Not from the members of the public anyway, and his team had proved he could count on them when it mattered.

'What if I want things to change?'

Danny's face crumpled. 'You want to stop hanging out with me?'

'No, Danny.' Nicholas took off his sunglasses and looked at him unwaveringly.

He waited patiently while Danny worked it out, his heart thudding nervously, one hand gripping the steering wheel tightly, the other clenched in his lap.

He saw the moment Danny got it, his eyes going wide with amazement. 'Me, really?' he asked breathlessly, as though he couldn't believe that Nicholas would want _him._ Danny still hero-worshipped him to an extent.

He laughed as Danny launched himself across the seat at him heedless of the park brake and gearstick, and lack of room. Danny was pretty agile for such a large man, he thought, as the air was squashed from his lungs and he was kissed with more enthusiasm than skill.

They broke apart at the sound of a wolf-whistle and looked out the window. The Andys were smirking at them. Cartwright made an recognisable suggestive gesture. Nicholas stiffened, imagining several different ways the scene could play out, none of them pleasant, already calculating the fallout from bringing Cartright up on report for insubordination.

Then, to his utter surprise and bewilderment, Wainright sketched him a casual salute and the two Andys ambled off without a word.

'What just happened?' he gasped.

'Oh, they've been together since junior school. At least, no one's ever been game to ask, but they've never had girlfriends.'

'Really?' He began to doubt his own powers of observation. He hadn't so much as suspected. Nicholas wondered what other revelations the day could possibly have in store for him.

'Can we go back to the kissing?' Danny asked eagerly.

Nicholas shook his head regretfully. 'Not on duty,' he said firmly. He started the engine, but didn't put it into gear. He looked at Danny. 'This all seems too easy somehow,' he said. 'It seems hard to believe that no one in Sandford will have anything to say about having an openly gay Inspector involved with one of his officers.'

'Employment Equality Regulations regarding sexual orientation makes workplace discrimination against gay people unlawful,' Danny said. Nicholas stared at him. Danny looked bashful. 'I looked it up,' he admitted.

Nicholas smiled at him and put his sunglasses on again. 'Somehow I don't think it'll be that simple,' he said. 'But when has that ever stopped us?' He and Danny were a team. Together they could do anything.

He put the car into gear and eased out into the empty street, feeling happier than he could ever remember. He grinned at Danny. 'Pedal to the metal?' he suggested.

'Nah.' Danny smiled back at him, and put his big hand over Nicholas's free one, holding it. 'I feel like taking it easy today.'


End file.
